Detectives seek fresh evidence in Round Mountain cold case

An investigation into one of Shasta County's most mysterious unsolved murders appears to be taking on new life.

On the same day the victim's son was sentenced to prison on a plea bargain for a hatchet attack, a Shasta County judge signed a warrant letting sheriff's investigators search two homes and two businesses in connection with the fatal shooting of Jon Ford 3-1/2 years ago inside his Mountain School Road home in Round Mountain.

A well known local businessman, Ford was shot to death inside his home on March 12, 2007. He was 47.

The warrant also authorized investigators to search Ford's widow, Julie Renee Ford, 50, and his son, Hamilton Chase Ford, 27. A State Street home in Redding also was searched.

A cell phone message left for Julie Ford's Redding attorney John Kucera wasn't immediately returned this afternoon.

Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Foster declined to discuss what new information triggered the warrants, other than to say detectives never forget about unsolved murder cases.

"They don't get put away and we let dust collect on them," Foster said. "We still remember those homicides, and when new info comes in we act on it."

The warrants were signed on the same day that another of Ford's sons, Nathaniel Ford, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to felony assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

He was sentenced to two years, eight months in prison, but had he been convicted at trial, Nathaniel Ford could have faced more than seven years in prison, Kucera has said.

Detectives have never revealed how many times Jon Ford was shot or the caliber or type of gun used in the killing.

In past interviews, though, detectives have said they had no idea who killed Ford and called the case one of the most perplexing unsolved murders in the county.

Foster revealed today that while Jon Ford's body was in still in the home, detectives went to speak with his wife. She told them to get off her property and she also told detectives to talk to her attorney, Foster said.

"Normally, you go to a scene like this ... they (victims' family members) say, ‘What can I do to help?'" Foster said.

The new warrant into the Ford murder says detectives could seize spent shell casings, ammunition and guns. They also had permission to search for latent fingerprints, receipts and vehicle records.

"Peace officers or others at their direction are authorized to search and seize the contents of any seized cell phone for any records and firearms located that may tend to identify participants or co-conspirators involved in the (Ford murder)," the affidavit reads.

The affidavit makes no mention of Nathaniel Ford.

He was arrested in late June following a brief standoff outside the Ford residence on Mountain School Road in Round Mountain. Prior to the standoff, he had been sought since the April 3 hatchet attack on James Jackson, 50, of Montgomery Creek at Jackson's home.

Jackson suffered wounds to his head, neck and ear during the attack.

Detectives said the assault stemmed from an argument over a handgun that Nathaniel Ford had claimed Jackson, an acquaintance, had stolen from him.

"I never saw him before like that," Jackson said in an interview after the attack. "It was crazy. I'm still in shock."

Jackson, who was taken by ambulance to Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, said he had 10 stitches to his forehead and two to his neck.

Jackson reportedly told detectives that he'd gone out to confront Nathaniel Ford after he started attacking his mother, a friend of Jackson's.

After he hit Jackson with the hatchet, Nathaniel Ford and his mother got into an SUV and left.

By the time deputies arrived at the house, the Fords were gone.

Deputies had said initially that they were worried about Julie Ford's safety. But Jackson said in an interview after the attack that he'd learned Julie and Nathaniel had spent part of Easter Sunday together.

The assault was the second time in less than a year that deputies had been called to investigate the Ford family.

On Nov. 1, Travis Butler, 23, of Redding was found dead after drinking heavily with one of Julie Ford's sons the night before.

Butler died from an overdose of methadone and alcohol, according to the Shasta County Coroner's Office.